How to Create Compelling Marketing Content

B2B tech companies are addicted to getting you to subscribe to their corporate echo chamber newsletter graveyard, where they dump their latest self-love notes. It's a cesspool of "Look at us!" and "We're pleased to announce..." drivel that suffocates originality and murders interest. Each link, each event recap and each funding announcement is another shovel of dirt on the grave of what could have been engaging content. UNSUBSCRIBE What if, instead of serving up the same old reheated corporate leftovers, your content could slap your audience awake? Ego-stroking company updates are out. 1. The pain point deep dive: Start by mining the deepest anxieties, challenges and questions your audience faces. Use forums, social media, customer feedback and even direct interviews to uncover the raw nerve you're going to press. 2. The unconventional wisdom: Challenge the status quo of your industry. If everyone's zigging, you zag. This could mean debunking widely held beliefs, proposing counterintuitive strategies or sharing insights that only insiders know but don't talk about. Be the mythbuster of your domain. 3. The narrative hook: Every piece of content should tell a story, and every story needs a hook that grabs from the first sentence. Use vivid imagery, compelling questions or startling statements to make it impossible to scroll past. Your opening should be a rabbit hole inviting Alice to jump in. 4. The value payload: This is the core of your content. Each piece should deliver actionable insights, deep dives or transformative information. Give your audience something so valuable that they can't help but use, save and share it. Think tutorials, step-by-step guides or even entertaining content that delivers laughs or awe alongside insight. 5. The personal touch: Inject your personality or brand's voice into every piece. Share personal anecdotes, failures and successes. 6. The engagement spark: End with a call to action that encourages interaction. Ask a provocative question, encourage them to share their own stories or challenge them to apply what they've learned and share the results. Engagement breeds community, and community amplifies your reach. 7. The multi-platform siege: Repurpose your anchor content across platforms. Turn blog posts into podcast episodes, summaries into tweets or LinkedIn posts and key insights into Instagram stories. Each piece of content should work as a squad, covering different fronts but pushing the same message. Without impressive anchor content, you won't have anything worth a lick in your newsletter. 8. The audience dialogue: Engage directly with your audience's feedback. Respond to comments, ask for their input on future topics and even involve them in content creation through surveys or co-creation opportunities. Make your content worth spreading, and watch as your audience does the heavy lifting for you. And please stop with the corporate navel-gazing. #newsletters #b2btech #ThatAshleyAmber

In a previous post, I covered the foundational principles of #ContentCreation techniques to help deliver impact. I wanted to dive a little deeper and share a few advanced techniques that will help you create compelling, optimised content that drives results. 1. Diversify Your Content Formats To keep your audience engaged and cater to different preferences, diversify your content formats. Here are some effective types to consider: - Blogs - Videos - Infographics - Podcasts - E-books and Whitepapers 2. Focus on Quality Over Quantity While regular content production is important, prioritising quality over quantity is crucial. High-quality content: - Addresses Pain Points - Offers Unique Insights - Is Well-Researched 3. Leverage Data and Analytics Data-driven content creation can significantly improve your results. Use analytics to: - Identify Popular Topics: Determine what topics resonate most with your audience. - Analyse Competitors: Understand what’s working for your competitors and identify gaps. - Track Performance: Continuously monitor the performance of your content to refine your strategy. 4. Optimise for SEO Search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential for increasing your content’s visibility. Key SEO practices include: - Keyword Research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find relevant keywords. - On-Page SEO: Optimise your titles, meta descriptions, headings, and content with target keywords. - Internal and External Links: Link to related articles on your site and authoritative external sources. - Mobile Optimisation: Ensure your content is mobile-friendly for better user experience and ranking. 5. Enhance User Engagement Engaged users are more likely to convert into customers. Boost engagement by: - Interactive Content: Use quizzes, polls, and interactive infographics to engage users. - CTAs: Include clear calls-to-action that guide users to the next step, whether it’s subscribing, downloading, or purchasing. - Comments and Feedback: Encourage users to leave comments and feedback to foster a community around your content. 6. Repurpose Content Maximise the value of your content by repurposing it into different formats. For example: - Turn a Blog Post into a Video: Create a video summary of a popular blog post. - Create Infographics from Data: Visualise statistics and data from your content into infographics. - Compile E-books: Combine related blog posts into a comprehensive e-book. 7. Personalisation Personalised content is more relevant and engaging. Use personalisation tactics such as: - Dynamic Content: Show different content based on user behaviour and preferences. - Segmentation: Tailor your content to different segments of your audience based on demographics, behaviour, and interests. - By implementing these advanced techniques, you can create high-impact content that not only attracts but also engages and converts your audience.

How I got 100K leads with somebody else's content. Early in my career at PayPal, I tried something that worked like crazy. I posted a piece of content that brought us 100,000 leads, and I didn't write a word of it. (I also didn't steal it!) Why am I telling you this? With AI eating up SEO traffic, everyone’s scrambling for attention on social media, and most people think this means becoming a content creator. Good news: You don’t need to write like Alex Hormozi, you just need to be smart about finding content that already works. Here's how... 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝟮𝗕 1. 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀’ 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝘁 – Ask your customers who they follow: Which newsletters, podcasts, YouTubers, and social accounts do they love? Even check what private WhatsApp and Slack groups they’re in. (No customers yet? Who do your prospects follow?) 2. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘀 – Study those creators’ most successful posts, and look for patterns: What do people engage with and why? Which topics? Content formats? Stylistic points? 3. 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 – Use those insights to create, license, or partner to get the stuff your audience craves. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝟰 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀: 1. 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮: ChartMogul turns their SaaS analytics data into irresistible benchmark reports which they share on LinkedIn and in their newsletter to attract warm leads. (Stripe, Unbounce, and Mixpanel do this too.)     2. 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝘀: CloudNC sells SaaS to machine shops. Instead of boring product demos, they share hypnotic videos of CNC machines crafting intricate designs. They show these videos to prospects via targeted ads, and when their sales team calls, prospects already know and like the brand.     3. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Rising Team founder Jennifer Dulski turns her Stanford teaching and decades of leadership experience into compelling stories. Result? 200K LinkedIn followers and a steady stream of warm leads. 4. 𝗟𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁: Remember my PayPal story? Here’s what happened: We’d just hired a telesales team and they needed leads fast. Instead of spending weeks creating content, I  found the perfect book for our audience, and emailed the author for permission to share two chapters as a lead magnet. Win-Win: The author got massive exposure, and we got 100,000 sales leads. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲? You don’t need to create everything from scratch, you just need to be smart about finding the content your audience already craves. Helpful? Follow Matt Lerner for more. P.S. 🙏🏻 Please don't steal content - just ask permission and credit the original author! Most of us are pretty reasonable.

Forget about these 3 standard pieces of advice: 1) Post daily, no matter the quality. 2) Use complex language to impress. 3) Focus on quantity over quality. Instead, start doing these 5: 1) Connect through aspirational identity. → Tap into universal desires. ↪︎ Align your brand with customers' aspirations. 2) Answer your audience's burning questions. → Use AI tools for research and keywords. ↪︎ Create content that solves specific problems. 3) Manage your content strategically. → Categorize content by purpose. ↪︎ Divide content into demand creation, conversion, and loyalty. 4) Edit for clarity and simplicity. → Utilize AI and editing tools. ↪︎ Keep language at a 5th-grade level for accessibility. 5) Use powerful visuals and storytelling. → Incorporate graphics and videos. ↪︎ Visuals that let customers see themselves using your product Ditch the spray-and-pray content approach. Avoid overcomplicating your message. Run from the one-size-fits-all strategy.

How to Create Amazing Content Marketing: You download a white paper or e-book, expecting it to provide valuable content on a topic you’re interested in learning more about. The first two paragraphs look promising. And then it happens: Paragraph three is a thinly veiled sales pitch. Instead of learning about the topic you were interested in, you’re now reading a boring sales pitch. Sound familiar? Content marketing is the process of creating and distributing content that has high value to your prospects and little to do with your product. The best content marketing often uses proprietary, exclusive data or analysis—this could be website traffic figures or an analysis of 10 million sales calls. Offer something that would be almost impossible to get from another source. A good formula to keep in mind is: Your prospects’ challenges + your valuable, exclusive content that helps solve these challenges = great content marketing. It’s OK to include a link to your company’s website or a passing mention of your product if the context absolutely begs for it, but no more. Resist temptation and don’t go listing your product features and case studies. I’ve found these three attributes to be crucial to the success of content marketing: Relevance: Was this written for me? If we're creating content for sales managers, all the promo materials will include that job title to attract them—for instance, "The Ultimate Coaching Guide for Sales Managers." Our target audience is more likely to engage with content specifically titled for them than with generic-looking content. Interest: Why should I care about this now? We may all agree we're living in a new economy and everyone's job role is changing. So "The Sales Manager's Coaching Guide for the New Economy" would satisfy the requirement of being interesting, especially now. Great content touches on a timely topic that your target audience clearly cares about now. If you succeed in creating a sense of urgency that will drive your audience to consume your content instantly, you have a much higher chance of getting your content consumed. Immediately Applicable: We're all busy and our attention spans are continuously shrinking. Clarify to your audience that they will quickly get value from your content without devoting a long weekend to reading through a 40-page e-book or watching a 45-minute lecture. For instance, "The One Thing You Can Change Today to Become a Better Sales Coach" sounds like a snackable piece of content I could consume between meetings or over lunch, making it more likely it'll get read. TikTok creators are doing very well with 15-second videos and many younger people prefer watching a 5-minute YouTube tutorial over reading a long book to educate themselves. Follow these guidelines and you’ll likely create a great piece of content marketing. But you’ve only won half the battle of getting your target audience to consume it. The second half is all about packaging and distribution (stay tuned).